DIY: Adding an Insert-Style Plate Holder for Φ28mm Standard Plates to a POWERTEC WB-PR15

This is a memo about how I wanted a place to hang Φ28mm standard plates on my POWERTEC WB-PR15, so I wrapped rubber around an incompatible weight plate holder and managed to install it nicely.

Note: this is not the official installation method, so if you try it, do so at your own risk.

Table of Contents

The Problem

The WB-PR15 is a power rack designed around Olympic plates (Φ50mm) and Olympic shafts, so there is no official Φ28mm plate holder that can be attached to the power rack. However, once you have more plates, storing them becomes a problem, so I figured something out.

What I Bought

1) The plate holder I used as the base

• Hellery “Weight Plate Holder for Power Squat Rack”
  • https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0F8HL2G78?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

2) What I wrapped around it (to adjust the hole diameter)

• Rubber sheet (2mm thick / 50mm wide) I used something like a “rubber roll 2×50mm” that was sold at a home center.

A thinner sheet is better because it gives you more room for adjustment.

What I Did

Step 1: Try inserting it as-is

First, without wrapping anything around it, hold the holder up to the hole on the WB-PR15. If you check how wide you should cut the rubber sheet beforehand, you can cut it to the right width in Step 2.

Step 2: Cut and wrap the rubber sheet (thickness adjustment)

1. Cut the rubber to an appropriate length (it is easier later if you also pre-cut it to the width measured in Step 1)
2. Wrap it around the part that gets inserted
3. Temporarily secure it with tape so it does not unravel

With a “2mm thick” sheet, it is easy to adjust: adding more wraps makes it properly thicker, and reducing the wraps lets you go back.

Step 3: Insert it into the hole and check for wobble

• After inserting it, shake it by hand and check whether it rattles left and right
• Lightly pull it in the direction it would come out and check whether it slips right out

How It Looks with Plates Actually Hung on It

It is neither especially good nor bad; for a DIY setup, it works as intended.

Update: Reinforcing it with wood

It was fine at first, but with only rubber it gradually started to lose against the weight and tilt, so I reinforced it by sandwiching in a piece of wood with a hole drilled in it to keep it from tilting. If you buy wood, I think it is best to look for a home center that will drill the hole for an additional fee.

Final Thoughts

I had been keeping the plates on the floor or leaning them against the wall the whole time, so this improved my workout QOL a ton. I should have done it much sooner…

(And someday, I want to fully move over to an Olympic setup.)